The Gods of Filmmaking is not affiliated with any of the celebrities.  If you would like to try to contact them try here

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, and George Sanders.  Cinematography by Rudolph Maté.  Edited by Dorothy Spencer.  Produced by Walter Wanger.  Written by Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison.  Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Johnny Jones (played by Joel McCrea) is a simple and naïve reporter working for the New York Daily Globe. In effort to get a fresh and “unused” mind into Europe to cover the failing negotiations for peace, the Globe decides to send Jones overseas.  With a new pseudonym and an unlimited expense account, the reporter now known as Huntley Haverstock heads over to London to interview the Dutch diplomat Professor Van Meer (played by Albert Bassermann). 

It seems that the Professor is one of only a very few people familiar with the details of the treaty between the Netherlands and Belgium. After briefly becoming acquainted with Van Meer, Jones is witness to his assassination on the steps of the town hall in Amsterdam.  Along with Carol Fisher (played by Laraine Day), the daughter of the leader of a peace organization, Jones investigates the murder and ends up discovering more than he could have bargained for.

In 1940 Alfred Hitchcock was in Hollywood just getting started with the seven year contract he signed with mega-producer David O. Selznick.  One of the ways Selznick made his money was by loaning out the stars he had under legal obligation to other producers or movie studios. Walter Wenger was one such producer who owned the rights to the best-selling novel Personal History but had no one to bring it to the screen.

Personal History is the autobiography of European correspondent Vincent Sheean and documents his adventures overseas. The screenplay adaptation, now sporting the name Foreign Correspondent, was a project right up Hitchcock’s alley.  Not only did it have to do with the situation threatening his home country, but it had elements of the espionage, suspense, romance, and comedy that he had been perfecting over the years. Selznick agreed to loan Hitchcock to Wenger and so began Hitchcock’s second American feature.

Before shooting Foreign Correspondent Hitchcock had the entire script reworked. He first hired screenwriter Charles Bennett, who had already collaborated with Hitchcock a half a dozen times, to tighten up the story.  He then had James Hilton rework the dialog and comedian Robert Benchley give it some comic relief.  And with Wenger’s deep pockets he was able to create set pieces as big as his imagination would take them.

There is also an amazing plane crash at the end of the film that is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable sequences in all of Hitchcock’s filmography. But a word of warning for the prospective viewer:  one must keep in mind the political climate of the world during Foreign Correspondent’s production. Much of the film plays as blatant propaganda encouraging the citizens of the United States to take an interest in the impending war. Some of it, particularly the ending, detracts from the overall picture but ultimately Foreign Correspondent is a strong and enjoyable film.

Budget: $???

Total US Gross: $???

Genre: Thriller

Runtime: 120 Minutes

US Release Date: 8/16/40

Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1

Awards:

Academy Awards: 
Nominated for best black and white art direction, black and white cinematography, special effects, original screenplay, supporting actor, and picture.

Tagline: The Thrill Spectacle Of The Year!

Quote: “I don’t know the in’s and out’s of your crackpot peace movement, and I don’t know what’s wrong with Europe, but I do know a story when I see one and I’ll keep after it until either I get it or it gets me.”

Links:

Famous Why